THE AFRICAN CYCADS 



57 



leaf stalks, E. latifrons with its broad leaflets, and E. 

 horridus with its fierce, spiny leaves! Appropriate 

 descriptive names like these might have been given 

 instead of the meaningless commemorative ones, for 

 E. AUensteinii might have been called E. pachyphyllus 

 on account of its very thick leaflets, E. Lehmanni might 



Fig. 19. — Encephalartos horridus, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa 



have been E. albus from the pale color of the leaves, and 

 E. Friderici Guilielmi might have been E. tomentosus 

 because the buds and cones have a dense covering of 

 hair. Almost any cycad might claim a specific name 

 like sanguineus , ruhus, or coccineus, because the rigid and 

 often spiny leaves are likely to draw the blood of anyone 

 who attempts to collect material. 



Before starting for the E. horridus locality I was 

 advised to wear old clothes and to carry safety pins, for 



